The detection of explosives is an important component of modern warfare, and devices capable of detecting explosive residues are of great importance. In particular, homemade explosives (HMEs) are frequently found in the theatre of war, as HMEs are prepared from components that are easily synthesized from readily available precursor chemicals.
Currently, there are several commercial test kits that have the ability to detect the presence of some precursors commonly used for making HMEs. However, these kits are typically not specifically designed for soldiers performing tactical operations. In particular, most commercial test kits are typically too large, heavy and cumbersome to be practical for tactical operations. Furthermore, soldiers performing tactical operations typically come in contact with bulk quantities of HME precursors. However, the majority of all existing commercial test kits focus solely on trace detection and are not optimized for bulk detection, and hence do not provide a tactical advantage to a soldier in the theater of war. Additionally, most commercial colorimetric test kits are designed to detect most HME precursors, HMEs and military grade explosives all in one test kit. This comprehensive testing approach unfortunately leads to confusion for the end user, an unacceptable level of false positives and negatives, and a decrease in the overall effectiveness of the test kit.
Accordingly, there is a need for an effective bulk HME precursor detection kit that is portable, lightweight, easy to use, low cost, provides focused detection and provides true bulk detection. Further, it would be highly advantageous if the bulk HME precursor detection kit were designed to focus only on detecting primary threat materials found in a specific conflict or theater of operations, thereby reducing confusion for the end user and increasing detection effectiveness and reliability.